Restaurant Review : CC’s City Broiler

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “champagne tastes on a beer budget”. Well I’ve got steak tastes on a burger budget which makes living in Missouri sheer torture. All this great beef and me with no money to buy it. When we do want splurge or someone else is picking up the trip we try to hit CC’s City Broiler Since they don’t take reservations; a meal there takes some planning.

If you don’t want to wait for a windfall or rich relatives to visit keep an eye out for the coupons they put out periodically where you get a certain set menu for two for a price. I am always leery of them, assuming there is a hidden catch. But here’s is our experience using one.

We rushed right over at five thirty and got one of a few open tables left (who are these Comoians eating steak at five? Many people were midway through their meals!) After being handed our gigantic menus and a card bearing our waiter’s name, we handed over our coupon and ordered. Even with our shields up we were suckered into ordering a side dish each not on the coupon. Side dishes we definitely would have gone without had we known the orgy of food awaiting us.

Our meal started off with their onion rings complete with dipping sauce (thousand island and Russian dressing combined me thinks, but oh so delicious). After that our chopped salads arrived. We both went for broke and requested blue cheese dressing. When I say we could have easily made a meal of the salads, I am not exaggerating in the least. It’s not that the salad itself is anything exciting, though I did love the cucumber wrapper. But the blue cheese dressing and fried onion toppings… oh yes. I could barely eat any of the sourdough bread that arrived along with it.

Soon our steaks arrived, along with my spinach and mushrooms and the husband’s truffle sweet potatoes. As part of the coupon deal, we both got fried lobster tails with our steaks. Honestly, I was so full at this point that I didn’t even touch the lobster. The husband took one for the team and took a few bites while sighing “lobster should not be deep fried.” And after the bites he confirmed: indeed it should not.

However, the steaks were perfect. My rare steak was actually cooked to the perfect rare state. A rarity, if you will. The meat definitely did not need the bacon wrapped around it. In fact the quality of the cuts would shine brighter without it. Even as fabulous as my steak was, I could only finish half of it. Fortunately, our waiter was happy to pack it up along with our barely touched sides.

The final bill came to right around $70 with the coupon. Which considering we also got a decent bottle of wine (2007 Spanish Tempranillo), we felt like was a good deal. With the deal you both can order a quality $30 steak that comes with all the accompaniments (don’t get suckered into ordering sides like us) and get it cooked perfectly. Not a bad deal. Just get there before six.

An added note: I thought they had great service, which is rare in this town. Our water glasses were constantly filled. Our food was brought on time, hot, and to the right person. Our waiter was personable and fun to chat with and was there when we needed him. We never had to pour our own wine and we never felt rushed. These are small things but they added to our enjoyment of the meal. My only quibble was the sneaky upselling. I understand his motivations but he actually would have gotten a bigger tip had he not done it (we planned to tip off the menu price of our meal not the discounted price.)

No reservations? Sorry, my time and my associates time is too valuable for that. Change the salad. Cucumber wrap is retro ’90’s, old hat, and not charming. The lobster mashed potatoes were very good. Lamentably my steak, while correctly medium inside, appeared and tasted like a charcoal briqette on the surface. What is that all about? Great potential. Take reservations, tweek the menu.